Negative
by Zarelyn
Summary: When they woke from crystal stasis, almost 7 years ago, they knew they had left behind their lives as l'Cie, just as they had left behind their lives on Cocoon. But was that all they left behind? LightningxHope
1. Chapter 1

**Whoops! Seems like my first upload lost the author's note...and what a horrible thing that is!...**

**Anyways, this is (one of) my first FF XIII fanfics, so please go easy on my if the characters are a tad OOC - it will get better with time, I promise!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FF XIII or any of the characters (sniffle-sob), though I do own Despair, Astra, and the plot!**

* * *

The Pulse sun was up, shining brightly overhead, it was a beautiful day, with soft puffy clouds drifting lazily across the sky, and Serah Villiers was in a wonderful mood: she was engaged to the man she loved, her brand as a Pulse l'Cie was but a distant memory, and – best of all – her beloved sister Claire was coming to visit tomorrow, along with Hope, Sazh, and Dajh. And so she walked through the streets of Bodhum, humming to herself, hands full with bags of groceries, feeling as if the world was going right for once.

She passed her favorite café and paused a moment, internally debating with herself – on one hand, she wasn't _that_ far from home, and she could easily wait the extra five minutes to make a cup of coffee herself…but then again, there was a reason this place was her favorite café.

And so she was standing there when a familiar woman ran by her, closely followed by a man shouting, "Wait, Astra, please!"

Serah nearly dropped her bags of groceries in shock, instead opting to stick a foot out to trip the silver-haired man who went tumbling to the ground at the unexpected obstacle.

"What the- oh, I'm sorry," the man said, halting his cursing as he saw Serah. His eyes were a dark forest green, a sheepish expression on his face as he ran a hand through his hair – dark silver, Serah noted, feeling a flush creeping up her cheeks.

"Oh," was all she could say, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else…" her mind flashed to a young boy as she had last seen him, his green eyes inquisitive beneath silver-white hair, and felt her face turning bright red.

"It's fine," the man said, turning and standing straight, searching for something in the crowds around him. "Damn, lost her again," he muttered, before turning to Serah, who now wore an expression of polite curiosity. "A friend of mine," he explained, a frown tugging at his lips. "I'm not exactly the most tactful person, and said something I really shouldn't have. Now she's pissed at me again." He cursed under his breath, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," Serah repeated, feeling more and more embarrassed as time passed. Of course this wasn't Hope – he would still be in classes at the university in Palumpolum right now, not chasing people on the streets of Bodhum. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nah, don't worry about me, miss…?"

"Serah."

"Miss Serah," he finished, flashing her a smile. "After all the times I've sparked her temper, I've become quite adept at calming her down. It's finding her that's the hard part, but at this point, I might as well just wait." He shrugged, seeming unaffected by his dilemma, and held out his hand. "The name's Despair – lame, I know, but it is what it is." He waited a moment, then seemed to notice she had her hands full, and laughed, running his hands through his hair again. "And here I am, rambling on about my problems while you're standing there with all your bags. Would you like some help?"

"Oh – no, I'll be fine," Serah demurred, taking a step back and flinched as she felt her foot fall further than expected off the edge of the sidewalk, felt the ground rushing up towards her-

And Despair was there, one arm slipped behind her shoulders as his free hand held the bags she had let go of in her shock. "Careful," he said wryly as they both realized the irony of his late warning.

"Th-thanks…" Serah muttered, standing up. She moved to take back the bags he had caught and he held them out for her, but did not relinquish his hold on them.

"Are you sure I cannot help you? As payment for ranting at you about my personal problems."

Serah opened her mouth, prepared to decline, but paused. Truth be told, she hadn't been completely done shopping, but it had reached the point where she could no longer carry any more bags and had decided to return later with Snow in tow. However, if Despair was willing…gears turned in her mind as a plan formed. "Only if you're fine with me dragging you into more stores," she said with a smile, trying to hide the evil grin that wanted to creep onto her face.

"That's fine by me," Despair replied, sweeping her a bow with his free arm. "Just lead the way, and I shall be as your pack mule – and believe me, I've had practice."

* * *

With Despair's help, Serah was able to finish all of her shopping and then some – she had been unable to resist the impulse to splurge a little, especially since she would not have to suffer the side effects of buying more than she immediately needed. The sun was just beginning to vanish behind the distant horizon, and Serah's steps were quick as they made their way back to the house Serah and Snow had shared since their marriage three years previously. As they approached the front door, Serah reached into the purse over her shoulder, searching for the keys. "Would you mind bringing the bags in for me?" She found her key ring, picking out the key to her home and inserting in the doorknob.

"No problem," Despair replied nonchalantly. Serah twisted the key, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

"Thanks," she said, stepping aside and letting him in. "Snow?" she said, louder. "I'm home."

"Be down in a moment!" came the shout from upstairs, followed by a thud, and Serah laughed, leading Despair to the kitchen area.

"Go ahead and set the bags down on the table," she said, setting the two bags she had been carrying down as Despair methodically unloaded the bags that had been loaded into his arms. "Would you like something to drink? It's the least I can do after your help."

"I thank you for your kindness, but I am fine," Despair shook his head, turning as they heard footsteps pounding down the stairs and the hulk that was Snow barreled into the room.

"Welcome home, baby!" Snow said, sweeping Serah into his arms and spinning her around, narrowly avoiding hitting the table and cabinets as he did so. "How was shopping?"

"It went fine," Serah said, sounding breathless, and held a hand out towards Despair. "This is Despair. He helped me carry the bags back – after all, we have a bit of a crowd coming soon…"

Snow raised an eyebrow, but held out his hand nonetheless. "Snow," he said by way of introduction, noting the forest green eyes and dark silver hair that tugged at his memory. "Thanks for helping my wife today." He placed a careful emphasis on the word 'wife', declaring his territory before the potential threat.

But Despair did not react to the warning, shaking the proffered hand with a smile. "No problem," he said, just as he had earlier. "It was my pleasure. And I owed her, after that rant," he gave a little self-depreciating laugh, shaking his head.

"No, you didn't," Serah said, unable to maintain her previous evil plan any longer. "It was my fault for tripping you – I'm sorry." She bowed her head, feeling embarrassed once more.

But Despair surprised them once again, only laughing at her admission. "So it was you! I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I'd tripped so suddenly, and you looked far too innocent to be the culprit. Don't worry about it, miss – you probably did me a favor, keeping me from continuing to make a fool of myself running after my friend like that."

"Why were you running after your friend?" Snow asked, unable to restrain his curiosity as Serah began to put away the groceries, beginning with the perishables.

Despair looked sheepish. "I said something that got her mad," he admitted, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "As usual, whatever we were talking about went out the window, and she went out the door."

"I know how you feel, man," Snow sympathized, sitting down at the table and gesturing for Despair to do the same. "These women – you piss them off and it doesn't matter what was happening, it's all your fault." He sighed, ignoring the Lightning-esque glare Serah shot him.

Despair grinned at that, but continued standing. "I should get going – I'm hoping Astra will be home by now, and we can talk things out…again." He shrugged, moving towards the door.

"Thanks again for your help," Serah smiled brightly at him, nudging Snow.

"Oh – yeah, thanks for helping," Snow added, then grinned. "We're having some friends over tomorrow, but would you like to come over for dinner the day after that? Bring your friend – maybe we can help you two." An evil matchmaking light was burning in his eyes, and Despair continued moving towards the door.

"Perhaps," he said noncommittally. "I'll have to talk to Astra about it – don't need to piss her off again, you know? But we don't live too far from here – maybe we'll stop by."

"That sounds lovely," Serah said.

They said their goodbyes and Despair left. Serah nudged her husband again, looking pointedly at the bags, and he stood with a sigh, helping to her empty the bags.

"He looked kind of familiar," Snow mentioned after it had been silent for a while, feeling a sense of nostalgia tugging at the back of his mind.

"Kind of like Hope," Serah replied, frowning. "I was wondering if that was just me or not. Honestly, when I tripped him, I thought it was Hope, though of course it wasn't." She tapped her chin with one finger, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey, come on baby, lighten up," Snow teased, kissing her forehead as he continued to put away her shopping. "We can figure it out some other time – for now, we have to get ready for sis and the others…"

As usual, the mere mention of guests was enough to get Serah moving again, though the mystery of Despair lurked in the back of their minds.

* * *

**So? How was it? Feel free to comment or critique (HELPFUL critique is more than welcome, but flames make me cry :(...).**

**Since I'm currently torn between this and Past, Present, Future, I might be a bit slow in updating. However, reviews make me happy, and a happy Zare updates more often! (Okay, so that was a lame attempt at begging for reviews...) Honestly, though, whichever story gets more reviews (and has more plot bunnies) will get updated faster...**

**To quote everyone's favorite redhead: Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! At this point in time, I have more reviews AND more alerts for this story, so I'll most likely be updating it more (that, and the fact that my current inspiration-boost revolves around this plotline...). That doesn't mean I'm just abandoning Past, Present, Future, though! I WILL continue to update both stories, no worries there :) I'm going to aim for every other day or two, but since I am a college student and homework must take priority, updates might be as slow as once a week - if it looks like there's a week where I won't be able to update as fast...well, that's why I have buffer chapters! Or will...eventually...**

**What I was originally going to have in this chapter proved to be simply WAY TOO LONG to have in just one chapter, and thus has been split into two. Therefore, if this chapter and the next seem a little shorter than the first chapter, I'm sorry! I will make it up later! (don't kill me please!)**

**For my anonymous reviewers: I will be responding to your reviews at the end of the chapter :)**

**Mandatory disclaimer: I don't own FFXIII. Sadness. The plot and OC's, however, are all mineee...(evil laughter)**

* * *

Lightning waited at the train station in Bodhum impatiently, left foot tapping a steady rhythm against the floor, arms crossed over her chest, eyes sharp as they pierced innocent, unsuspecting passersby with her glare. Why _she_ had to pick up the others was a mystery – after all, the get-together had been Serah's idea; all Lightning had to do was show up and play friendly. But when her sister had called, earlier that morning…

"_You want me to _what_?" Lightning snapped, feeling a headache start to set in._

"_Pick up Hope, Sazh, and Dajh from the train station!" Serah replied brightly, unaffected by her sister's menacing tone. "I still have a few things around the house I want to straighten up, and Snow has to report in this morning – something about covering for someone else on patrol duty…" her voice trailed off, then returned with full-force cheer. "But I know you have today off, and we already arranged for a taxi van to get everyone and their luggage here, but someone needs to be there to welcome them to the new Bodhum and show them around!"_

_Lightning leaned her forehead against the wall, sipping her cup of coffee and wishing her headache would go away. She knew her sister well enough to know that she was losing this fight, but it was not in her to just give up. "They can figure out their own damn way," she grumbled, setting the empty coffee mug in the sink. "Besides, it's not like they've never been here before. They came for your wedding to that oaf after all."_

"_Yes, but that was three years ago," Serah replied placidly. "So much has changed since then – besides, they never saw the house." There was still a slight disappointed note in Serah's tone over that minor frustration, but it wasn't anything they had been able to help; Hope and Dajh had school, and Sazh had work. It had been miracle enough that they had been able to take off the time to come to the wedding._

"_So have the taxi driver wave a sign or something. They aren't blind."_

_Lightning could see the glare Serah was sending her through the phone. "They're our friends! You don't just ditch friends like that and force them to find their way over when you invite them. Now get ready to pick them up. Their train…"_

_The battle was lost, and Lightning listened in defeat to the directions Serah gave her._

Remembering her headache only served to make it worse, and Lightning's glare intensified as she glanced first at the clock – 2:14. _Over an hour late_, she noted – then at the bare rails, as if glaring them into forced submission would somehow mystically summon the overdue train, passengers and all. She shifted her center of balance, leaning on her left leg and tapping her newly freed right foot, her impatience mounting as the second hand on the oblivious clock ticked away the time.

Someone bumped into her from behind, and she regained her balance quickly, turning her vicious glare upon the perpetrator, who moved out of her way in no particular hurry.

"Sorry," the dark haired woman muttered, keeping her eyes on the ground and continuing forward, seeming unaffected by the force of Lightning's glare.

Feeling her annoyance spike, Lightning glared after her a moment longer before turning her attention to the empty rails once more. She felt her muscles growing stiff from inactivity – _honestly, how late can a train be?_ – and was considering taking a run around the station when she heard raised voices.

"Hey, woman! Watch where you're going!"

"Come back! There's a train coming!"

"You'll get yourself killed!"

At that, Lightning turned her attention towards the uproar, her soldier's instincts taking over as she strode over. She took in the situation in the briefest of moments: a young woman had stepped past the yellow line that marked the safe zone and was moving as if to jump down on the rails. The man who had shouted earlier had spoken true: the long-awaited train could be heard not far away, and unless someone acted soon, this woman would die.

"Someone" turned out to be "Lightning", a situation she had grown used to in her years as a soldier. Forcing her way through the crowd of onlookers – _Stupid bystanders, no one offering to help_ – she stepped beyond the yellow line, grabbing the woman's wrist and yanking the fool back before she could jump onto the rails.

"Stupid," Lightning muttered as the woman began to struggle, commanding the soldier to release her at once. Ignoring the woman's demands, she dragged the stupid chit towards one of the benches made available for those waiting for the trains and tossed her on it, standing in front of the belligerent woman like a menacing judge.

"Talk," was all she said, turning her glare upon the woman, who now sat upon the bench, arms crossed, and eyes focusing on something to her right. The woman remained silent, and Lightning took a moment to size her up: long dark hair, carefully pulled over one shoulder and gathered by a nondescript dark band, fair skin, nails kept short on long-fingered hands. She wore a black tank top covered by a loose, off-the-shoulder blue-grey sweater whose sleeves were currently bunched around her forearms; when not in a huff, the sleeves would cover her hands – they would be a nuisance in a fight, Lightning noted – and utilitarian jeans.

As the silence stretched on and the train's whistling grew louder, Lightning grew more and more impatient. "Look, I have better things to do than to interrogate you, but you can't just go and jump on the train tracks like that," she lectured, and saw the woman roll her eyes. "Tell me what you were doing." It was no longer a request, but a flat-out command.

Slowly, the woman turned to face Lightning, her dark rose-colored eyes catching Lightning's own icy blue orbs and meeting them glare for glare. "I was trying to kill myself," she said bluntly, her voice even, as if she were commenting on the weather.

Lightning took a deep breath, her headache pounding as she glared at the woman before her, and rubbed her temples wearily. "If you want to kill yourself, go find some private place," she snapped. "At least then you won't be a bother to everyone else." Deep down, she knew this was not the correct response; had she been on-duty, Lt. Amodar would have given her a sharp reprisal for her actions. But she wasn't on duty, she had a headache, and she was pissed. "Now leave. If I catch you doing something like this again, there will be consequences." She made a mental notation of the woman's appearance, especially those dark rose-hued eyes, as well as a note to inform Lt. Amodar – who was still her commanding officer, even after all that had happened – to watch out for this bitch.

"Oh, do not worry," the woman said off-handedly, even going so far as to wave one hand airly. "You will not be seeing me again." With that, she stood and gave Lightning a mock salute before walking away with a measured sway in her step, leaving Lightning glaring after her retreating back. As she watched, a man approached the woman, his dark hair lighter than hers by a few shades, and began speaking with her. He gestured sharply, the hand he grasped around her wrist to drag her away indicating his fury even from Lightning's distant vantage point.

_At least one of them has sense,_ she thought, and turned her attention back to the clock: 2:47. The train whistle grew louder, indicating its final approach, and Lightning sank down onto the bench to wait for the passengers to unload. No sense in waiting with the rest of the crowd; Hope and the others would get off when they got off, and it would be easy to pick out either Hope's silver hair or Sazh's afro from where she sat. At the back of her mind, the suicidal woman continued to haunt her thoughts; something about her had seemed almost…familiar. Like she had met her before, but long ago. Before her l'Cie days? Perhaps during training for the Guardian Corps, or on a mission…But the familiarity refused to be pinned down, and Lightning promptly shoved it aside as she saw a bundle of yellow feathers pop out of its dark curly-haired nest. Standing up, she waved her arm and saw the chocobo dive back down to Sazh.

* * *

**And so ends chapter 2! Like it? Hate it? Dare I say...love it? :D Drop a comment, critique, review, etc.!**

**iheartsnow: Thanks for the review! Don't worry, I'll definitely continue to update - and I totally understand patience not being a strong suit...I'm a very impatient person myself O_x. I hope this update was fast enough for you! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a quick note before the story: as you may notice, this chapter is LONGER than the last two; while the last two chapters were about 3 pages long, this one was 5, and I think I prefer this longer style, so all future chapters will therefore be LONGER! Which is good! Though it might mean that I take longer to update; please bear with me. Just think about it like this...the updates might sometimes be farther apart, but they're longer! So you enjoy them more! :D**

**As usual, anonymous reviews are at the end of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I no own FFXIII. :(**

* * *

Lightning waited where she was as the trio gathered their bags and made their way over. Sazh broke out of the crowd first, a backpack over his shoulder and a large bag in one hand. A thirteen-year-old Dajh was not far behind him, pulling a rolling backpack, a bright smile on his teenage face – he had begun to lose some of the baby fat that made young children so adorable, but still retained that characteristic smile. And behind him…

Hope.

Hope was no longer the fourteen-year-old boy who had followed her desperately in their l'Cie days. He had grown, both vertically and horizontally; his shoulders were broader than she remembered, but he was still slim – he would never have the breadth that Snow was so famous for, and while his muscles looked more defined now that he was older, his build was lean and wiry as opposed to Snow's hulk. He had let his hair grow out a bit, and some of it fell into his green eyes – eyes that showed how much time had passed, their bright innocence now tempered by wisdom.

"Hey there, soldier," Sazh said by way of welcome.

"Hi Lightning!" Dajh chirped.

"Hello, Dajh," Lightning rested a hand on the child's head. "Still got a ways to go, I see."

"Yeah," the teen frowned, but his smile quickly returned. "But Hope got taller, so there's hope for me too!" He laughed at his silly pun, and Sazh shook his head.

"Kids," he said, throwing his free hand in the air.

"Hello, Light," Hope said, finally joining the group. Now that he was closer, Lightning realized she had to look up to meet his eyes – he was several inches taller than her now. "It's been a while."

Lightning nodded in greeting. "Three years. Serah's wedding." She felt her headache pound suddenly, and rubbed her temples wearily. "Come on – there's a taxi waiting." She turned, leading the way to the taxi waiting area.

"Hasn't changed a bit, has she," she heard Sazh grumble. Hope just laughed.

They managed to load the trio's baggage into the back of the van without too much trouble, although they had a minor incident where Dajh's chocobo, who had doubled in size since the fall of Cocoon, had flown in with the baggage and refused to come out, and they'd had to lure it out with treats in order to avoid squishing Dajh's favorite feathery yellow friend. Eventually, though, they piled in, Lightning tersely directing the driver to Serah's home.

Dajh was bouncing around in excitement, and Hope began entertaining him, telling him stories of their days as l'Cie – hadn't Dajh heard them all before? But the boy was happy to hear them again. Lightning watched him, still feeling dazed from the realization that Hope was now _taller_ than her.

_Of course,_ a voice in the back of her mind taunted her. _It's been almost seven years. Of course he'll have grown up since then._ But she ignored it, wishing her headache would go away.

Hope caught her studying him and turned, giving her a questioning look without missing a beat in the story he was currently telling Dajh – of the time when Lightning had first summoned her Eidolon, Odin. "So there I was, scared out of my mind, with this huge white and gold beast swinging a giant sword at me – and Lightning jumped in and blocked it, even though I was 'a liability'." Dajh's eyes were wide, enraptured by Hope's storytelling, but Lightning snorted, interrupting the tale.

"You were," she reminded him, arms crossed as she met his amused gaze. "You didn't have the skill to hold your own in battle, nor the stamina to keep up with me, nor the knowledge to help our situation. You were a liability in every sense of the term. You were just lucky that, as a soldier," she stressed the 'soldier' part, "I could not allow a citizen of Cocoon to die."

But Hope only smiled, whispering something in Dajh's ear. The younger boy giggled, looking at Lightning with an expression that said 'he just told me you're lying'. Rolling her eyes, Lightning instead watched the scenery pass by.

"So how has everyone been?" Sazh said, interrupting her solitude. "Since the wedding, that is."

"Snow and Serah are happy as can be in their new home," she reported, keeping her tone neutral at the mention of Snow, though the look in Sazh's eyes said he caught the undercurrent of annoyance. "Gods know what they've been up to when I'm not around to keep them straight. Snow's been working with a new branch of the Guardian Corps, primarily made up of old NORA members, and Serah's been teaching kids at the local school, but she's off on break right now."

"And what about yourself, soldier girl?" Sazh pressed.

Lightning shrugged. "I've been fine," she said simply. Their arrival at Serah's house saved her from further questioning, and she quickly moved to begin unloading the car, soon joined by the others. As she reached for her wallet to pay the driver – she felt momentarily irked at the thought that Snow went in to work this morning just to avoid having to pay – the front door opened, and Serah darted out, hugging everyone and welcoming them all.

"Oh, don't worry about it Claire!" she said cheerily when she saw her sister about to pay. "I've got this." And she handed a card to the cabbie; Lightning just managed to make out the words 'free ride' before the card vanished into the cabbie's pocket. "Snow won it off someone at work," she explained off-handedly, already turning to the next task. "Well, come on in everyone! I'm so happy you're all here!" She ushered the group inside before plying them with questions.

Lightning easily faded into the background as her sister dominated the scene, easily handling the socially acceptable form of interrogation known as "catching up with old friends", serving water and directing them to the comfortable couches in the living room. Sazh had resumed work as a pilot after Cocoon's fall, taking on a shorter route that allowed him to spend more time at home with his son, who regularly attended a school in Palumpolum. On occasion, however, Dajh would miss classes to learn how to be a pilot like his father and accompany him on trips. Hope had finished up his primary education, and now attended the Palumpolum University, which – while its general structure and shape followed that of the original Palumpolum University on Cocoon – had been modernized to account for the reduction in technology after the fall of Cocoon and the loss of the fal'Cie.

"What're you studying, then?" Serah asked, sending a slight glare at Lightning that was a cue for the soldier to join the group.

"This and that," Hope said vaguely, taking a sip of his water as Lightning took the open seat next to her sister. "Right now, I'm taking a lot of mechanics courses. We used to rely on the fal'Cie to keep our technology working, but now we have to rely on our own two hands, so mechanics are really in demand. I've been helping to keep the machines around Palumpolum U. up and running, too, and I really enjoy it."

"Sounds logical," Lightning commented, knowing her sister would never allow her to remain silent for long. Hope seemed pleased by that, sending her a quirky half-smile as Dajh exclaimed, "Then you could fix Dad's airship!"

"That I could," Hope laughed, but Sazh looked worried at the prospect.

"I don't know…I think it might be better to leave that to the people who fix airships for a living."

"Well, if that's what Hope wants to study, then one day he will be fixing them for a living," Lightning said. For some reason it bothered her that Sazh didn't feel like he could trust Hope with his airship – they were friends, after all.

"No offense, kid," Sazh reassured Hope. "But I need an airship I can rely on, one I know won't fall apart mid-flight."

Hope didn't seem bothered by this. "No worries," he waved one hand. "I still have a few years of study, anyways. And I'll probably want to start with Pulse-bound machines anyways – don't want anyone getting hurt because their airships fall apart in the air," he grinned at Sazh, who laughed. "But enough about us – how have you guys been?" Hope aimed the question at both of the sisters, but he was watching Lightning.

"Oh, we've been wonderful," Serah gushed. "Snow's been doing so well with the Guardian Corps, and he really enjoys working with them, especially since he gets to work with so many of NORA's old members. And I've had so much fun teaching! The kids are all so cute, and so eager to learn." As she said this, she rested one hand on her stomach, an action that caught Lightning's eye.

"Snow, a part of a military branch? Now that's something to be worried about," Hope joked. "He doesn't exactly work well with authority…"

Serah just laughed. "NORA's been doing well, surprisingly," she admitted. "Although, if they were working with PSICOM, I think things would play out differently."

"Good thing PSICOM isn't around anymore, then," Sazh shook his head. "People don't need that kind of protection. Never did, far as I'm concerned."

The others all agreed to that; their worst enemy as l'Cie had been directly related to PSICOM, after all. An uneasy silence settled over the group for a moment before Hope turned to Lighting.

"So what about you, Light?"

Lighting felt a frown tugging at her lips; she hated being in the spotlight, and Hope knew that. But there was a curious look in his eye behind the amusement, and the felt the urge to frown fade away. "I've been fine," she gave her textbook reply, but at a kick from her sister began to elaborate. "I've been working with the Guardian Corps again – not in the same branch as Snow, thankfully, though since I was in the Bodhum Security Regiment before, we work with the old NORA members more than most."

"Still a sergeant?"

She nodded. "Since I was a l'Cie, not everyone's comfortable with me being promoted. Besides, lieutenants get more paperwork," she scoffed.

"But you've been offered a promotion," Serah said, and by the tone of her voice she could tell this was an oft-repeated argument between the sisters. "The people are grateful for your actions. It's not like everyone hates the l'Cie."

"I'm fine as a sergeant," Lightning replied, crossing her arms. "And I hate the paperwork that Lt. Amodar has to go through every day – it's gotten worse since Cocoon fell."

Serah frowned, looking as if she wanted to argue further, but she was too good of a hostess to continue such an exclusive argument in front of guests. "I'm sorry for interrogating you as soon as you got here," she apologized, standing up. "Want me to show you where you'll be staying?"

"Sound good," Sazh agreed, standing up.

"Okay then!" Serah smiled, heading towards the stairs. "You two will be up here…" her voice faded away as she led Sazh and Dajh up the stairs, leaving Hope and Lightning on the couches.

Since Hope did not immediately start up some form of conversation, Lightning moved around the room picking up the mostly empty water cups and took them to the kitchen, dumping the remaining water into the sink and turning on the hot water to wash the used cups. She worked in silence, the only sound the splash of the water as she submerged cup or sponge, stacking the clean but sudsy cups into the second compartment of the sink to rinse later. She was on the third cup when Hope came up next to her, rinsing the cups silently and drying them as she washed the remaining cups and emptied the sink.

"So -" "Th -" they both spoke at once, then fell silent again.

"You first," Hope said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Um, thanks," Lightning mumbled, avoiding his gaze. She saw his grin in her peripheral vision.

"Would've been rude to make you do all the work," was his response, and she glared at him at the implication that she was incapable of doing the work. "Hey, calm down," he said, eyes widening as he held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm just trying to say it would have been rude to not offer to help. Common courtesy, you know."

Lightning 'hmph'ed, but let it go. "You were saying?" she asked pointedly.

Hope shrugged, brushing it off. "Just trying to strike up some friendly conversation," he said offhandedly. "University has gotten me used to a constant stream of chatter – it's a little unnerving sometimes to be surrounded by silence when in groups."

The stood in silence for a while, despite Hope's comment, and Lightning was beginning to feel obligated to make some form of conversation when someone knocked. "Wonder who that could be," she asked rhetorically, moving to answer the door since Serah was still occupied with Sazh and Dajh upstairs, Hope not far behind her.

"Yes?" she asked, partially opening the door and doing a momentary double-take at the man standing, fist raised mid-knock – he looked just like Hope, but his hair was a much darker silver and longer, pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. His eyes, too, were darker – a deep forest green rather than a light leaf green.

"Oh – sorry, does Serah live here?" the man asked, a frown furrowing his brow. "I could have sworn this was her house…"

"Yes, she does," Lightning answered, crossing her arms. She heard Hope moving around behind her, trying to see who it was, but she kept the door only half-open. "And you are…?"

"Oh, ahh, just a friend," the man replied, carefully avoiding her question. His eyebrows raised as the door opened further to reveal Hope, who half-glared at Light before facing the stranger. "Hello."

"Hello," Hope replied, feeling confused.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," the man said, turning back to Lightning. "I just wanted to let Serah know that we would not be able to join her for dinner tomorrow – something's come up – but perhaps lunch would work?"

Lightning raised an eyebrow, not moving as she waited for the man to elaborate.

The man looked irritated. "Look, can I talk to her?"

Lightning felt tempted to say 'no', but remembered the last time she had scared one of Serah's friends away. Whatever her response might have been was erased as Serah's familiar voice floated over to them.

"Claire? Hope? Who's at the door?" Serah entered the entryway, and Hope stepped aside to let her through. "Oh!"

"Hello again, Serah," the man smiled. "I just wanted to let you know that Astra and I won't be able to come over tomorrow night – some friends of ours are going to be in town, and it's been a while since we saw them last. Would lunch work instead?"

"That'd be great," Serah nodded. "Mind if we meet here then head into town? We have a bit of a crowd."

"Sounds good to me," the man replied, stepping back as if to leave. "It was nice to meet you – Claire, was it?" he smiled charmingly at Lightning, holding out a hand.

"Lightning," she grumbled, but accepted his handshake. To everyone's general surprise, the man bent over to kiss the back of her hand before releasing it.

"A pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman," he murmured, and left.

* * *

**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And now is the part where I tell you - yes. I've been wanting to write that scene for a while. Partially because in my mind, Lightning would totally go BAMF on poor Despair's ass...but then I always wondered - considering this is not a situation in which she often finds herself - if she might be so startled as to be unable to react?**

**Also, a note on Hope's age and education: The idea of a 21-year-old college student, who at that point should be in their senior year, not knowing what they want to do is completely foreign and wrong to me, so I understand if there's some confusion here. While in the real world, the typical college education lasts 4 years (sometimes longer, due to the economy...), take into account that FFXIII happens in a different universe, and this is after the fall of Cocoon, so I reasoned that a college education taking a longer amount of time would be standard. **

**Anyways. Rambling ends here.**

**iheartsnow: I'm glad that was fast enough for you! Hope this one is too :) Buut...that wasn't Fang. This fic is set in the traditional post-game universe, so Fang and Vanille are trapped in crystal - sorry if that was confusing!**

**Anonymous: Thanks for the review! And I'm glad you couldn't find any grammar mistakes (that sounds awkward...) - I'm a bit of a grammar Nazi myself, so every one of my chapters gets checked and double-checked and triple-checked (and sometimes quadruple-checked) for spelling and grammar before appearing online. I hope this chapter meets your expectations!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ugh. I'm not too happy with this chapter, but feel guilty not posting today, so here it is. I might go back and edit this chapter later, but for the moment, I'm just trying to keep the story moving - I could easily spend a few more days working on this chapter, but then you wouldn't have any new chapters to read!**

**Disclaimer: I no own FFXIII :(**

* * *

There was a moment of awkward silence, broken only by the door closing as Serah grabbed Hope's and Lightning's wrists and dragged them back to the living room, knowing her sister well enough to predict the oncoming outburst.

"That absolute bastard!" Lightning exploded, flinging off Serah's grasp and storming to the opposite side of the room, burning a hole in the wall with her glare as she crossed her arms. "Who does he think he is?"

"Calm down, Claire," Serah said soothingly, releasing Hope in favor of following her sister and resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He was just being friendly…"

"_Too_ friendly," Lightning bit back.

"Despair was just being a gentleman! Gods, Claire, why is that such a big problem!" Serah was fuming now.

Hope watched their argument, of two minds about the whole issue. On one hand, he had to agree with Serah: the man had just been being polite – which was weird, since he refused to introduce himself – and Lightning was perhaps overreacting. On the other hand, he wouldn't have minded seeing Lightning beat up the fool for trying such a stunt.

"Despair?" Lightning snorted. "What sort of a fool name is that?"

"The same as Lightning," Serah shot back; it was clear she was pissed. "A moniker to hide behind when you don't want to face reality."

Lightning stared at her sister, the room deathly silent for a moment. Hope watched the color slowly drain from Serah's face, saw her open her mouth to deny what she had said in a moment of rage, but it was too late. Lightning turned and left, passing Sazh and Dajh on the stairs.

"What happened?" Sazh asked, a befuddled look on his face, restraining Dajh as his son made to follow the soldier. "No, Dajh, I think Lightning wants to be alone right now."

Hope glanced at Serah, who was staring blankly at the hole in the ceiling through which Lightning had vanished. "We had a visitor," he said lamely, not sure how to retell the events of the past few minutes. "He pissed Light off, and Light and Serah, uhm…started fighting."

"I can't believe I said that to her," Serah moaned, collapsing onto the nearest couch and cradling her head in her hands. "I'm such a horrible sister!"

Hope and Sazh exchanged helpless glances. "Why don't you go talk to the soldier," the older man suggested. "I'll handle Serah. Dajh, would you mind playing outside for a bit?"

* * *

Hope paused for a moment at the top of the stairs, not sure which way to go. The hallway extended left and right; on the left, there were two doors on opposite walls, both closed; to the right, the same layout, but with an extra door at the end of the hall. One of the doors was slightly ajar, and Hope nudged it open to see Light standing next to a desk set against the right wall, looking at something in her hand. She didn't move when Hope came in, though he made no effort to be stealthy.

"Light?" he said hesitantly, stepping inside. When she continued to remain unresponsive, he moved to her side, glancing at the object in her hand. It was an old photograph of Serah and Lightning, taken when they were in their early teens. "I'm sure she didn't mean it," he said, moving back a step when Lightning turned to him. Her eyes were oddly wet, and Hope frowned. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Lightning replied, turning back to the picture, but there was an odd catch in her voice. "Just…looking at old pictures." She set the photo in its frame back down on the desk, drawing Hope's attention to the other frames. They were in a variety of sizes, each containing a single priceless memory. "I keep forgetting how much time has passed."

Hope had a feeling that she had forgotten he was there, so he remained silent, just waiting in case she needed him. "I know she's grown up," Lightning continued, "but she's still my baby sister – I have to protect her. But then…" her shoulders slumped.

"I don't think she meant it," Hope repeated, daring to rest a hand on Lightning's shoulder.

"She was right," was the soldier's quiet response. "It's not the first time we've fought about this. When mom died, I stopped being Claire and became Lightning, so that I could protect Serah. As Claire, I couldn't do anything; I couldn't get over the fact that my parents were dead, couldn't protect Serah, couldn't enlist in the Guardian Corps. All that, I could only do as Lightning. I hid behind that moniker; lightning cannot protect, it can only destroy – it was my reasoning why even as Lightning, I could not protect Serah. But she doesn't need protection anymore – we're adults now, she has Snow, and the threat of becoming a Cie'th is gone. She needs Claire, not Lightning. But I've been Lightning for so long…I've forgotten how to be Claire."

Hope listened silently to Lightning's tale, surprised that she was opening up to him, grateful that she was doing so, and torn about how to handle the situation. Finally, he settled on consolation. "Who says you can only be Lightning, or Claire? You can be both. You're Light, after all." He smiled as she blinked at him, and she smiled faintly back.

"Right," she said, then looked away, avoiding his gaze as she flushed faintly. "Sorry." She didn't say why, or for what, but Hope understood.

"No need to apologize," he reassured her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze and letting go before she hurt him for his presumptuous behavior. "Ready to join the others?"

* * *

The sisters' make-up was tearful on Serah's side, and embarrassing on Light's. Knowing the soldier better than most, Hope gestured for Sazh to follow him into the kitchen to give the sisters some time alone and to avoid the awkward I-shouldn't-be-watching-this feeling that so often accompanied those not taking part in such make-ups.

"Sheesh, all this drama," the pilot complained, searching through the cabinets for the glasses then filling one with water. "Makes a man thirsty. Want some?"

"Sure," Hope accepted the proffered cup and taking a big gulp of water.

"I hope those two are okay," Sazh said after finishing his glass. "They're all they've got, you know? I would hate to see that torn apart, especially after all they've done to keep it together."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Hope replied, grinning at the older man. "It's Light, after all. She's not about to let her only sister live with Snow without _some_ sort of protection." As soon as the words left his mouth, he contorted his expression into a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. "That did not come out how I meant it to."

"No worries. Just don't let Lightning hear you say that – she might not be so forgiving." The pair fetched three more glasses of water, refilling their own, and Hope rejoined the sisters in the living room as Sazh went to fetch Dajh from his backyard exile.

"That better?" Hope asked, handing them each a glass before taking a seat on an empty couch.

The sisters glanced at each other nervously and nodded. "Sorry you had to see that, Hope," Serah said, smiling hesitantly at him.

"No worries," Hope said blithely, taking a sip of water. "So what was up with that guy?"

"Despair?" Serah was looking at Hope, but he saw her eyes dart to Lightning, as if worried for another explosion. "He's a new friend of mine – I kind of accidentally tripped him while shopping the other day and things just went from there. But I had a feeling everyone would get along with him – he's so friendly – so I invited him and his friend…what was her name…" Serah stopped her rambling and frowned up at the ceiling as if the absent name was inscribed within the white plaster, but gave up with a shake of her head. "I invited them to join us tomorrow night. The more the merrier, you know?" She smiled brightly at Claire, caught up in the moment, and added, "And it looks like I was right!"

Lightning looked nonplussed. "So you mean to tell me that you invited a complete stranger over to dinner, without mentioning it to anyone else, without meeting this other friend of his, and without even checking to see if he's who he says he is?"

Serah frowned. "It's not as bad as you make it sound, Claire," she insisted. "Besides, I feel like we can trust him. He feels so familiar – he really reminds me of you, Hope."

"Me?" Hope said, his voice sounding strangled. This was not a turn of events he had anticipated.

"Yeah. I mean, silvery hair isn't all that common, and I wasn't really paying attention, so…but I know you two aren't the same, really!" Serah added, just realizing how what she was saying could be horribly misunderstood, and quickly moved on. "So it sounds like we're meeting them for lunch tomorrow."

"Meeting who for lunch?" Sazh's familiar voice broke in as he and Dajh returned from the backyard.

"A stranger Serah just met," Lightning said at the same time Serah responded, "Some new friends of ours."

Sazh looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well, which is it?"

"Both," Hope responded before either sister could turn this into an argument. "Has Snow at least met this Despair person yet?" he asked Serah; while he didn't exactly trust Snow's judgment, it might be enough to dissuade Serah from her current plan.

"Of course!" was Serah's cheerful response to Hope's despair. "He didn't disagree with me – that counts as agreement, right?" She did not give the others a chance to debate her assumption, barging on ruthlessly. "Hope, let's get you settled – we have another guest room you can use…" she trailed off, a slight frown on her face as she counted on her fingers.

Lightning raised an eyebrow, guessing where her sister's thoughts were going – she would allow her sister her not-so-subtle change of topic for the moment. "Don't worry about me, Serah," she said. "I live in town anyways; I'll just come over after work."

"But it's not the same – everyone's supposed to be together!"

"I can sleep on the couch," Hope offered, catching on to what the problem was. "It's no problem for me – couch-crashing is my area of expertise." He grinned, inviting them to share on his joke.

"You're a guest," Serah and Lightning shot his idea down in chorus.

"Serah, it'll be fine," the elder of the two insisted.

"No!" Serah insisted. "We can work this out somehow…"

And so it was that Snow came home to a house full of contemplative friends and family. "What happened?" he asked, mistaking 'thoughtful silence' for 'sorrowful silence'.

"We don't have enough guest bedrooms," Serah mourned, pouting up at her husband. "And unless we figure out sleeping arrangements soon, Claire's going to run away and it won't be fun at all."

"You can't do that, sis," Snow chided, ignoring Lightning's automatic "I'm not your sister." He frowned for a moment, his expression contorting in thought, and then brightened as an idea struck him. "Baby, your hero's here to save you," he said to Serah, getting a confused smile from his wife and general looks of disbelief from the others. "I'll sleep on the couch. Then there's a guest room for Hope, one for Sazh and Dajh, and sis can sleep with you."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at that prospect – she wasn't entirely averse to separating the two – but loved her sister too well to be so cruel to her. "Is this really that important to you?" she asked Serah bluntly, getting that familiar feeling – the one where she was going to sacrifice something for her sister's happiness. As her sister nodded, she sighed, resigning herself to her fate. "Then I'll sleep on the couch. I'm family, not a guest, so don't start with that. And as noble as our 'hero' would like to believe he is, we all know that you'll both be miserable," she said the last sentence with a certain amount of martyrdom; drama queen she was not, but the prospect of sleeping on the couch for the week or so everyone was visiting was not something she could look forward to so eagerly.

"Are you sure, sis?" Snow asked, earning a glare and eye roll from Lightning.

"Don't make me say it again, idiot – and I'm not your sister."

"But are you sure, Claire?" Serah asked worriedly. "I mean, since you have work…"

"I agreed to stay here. Don't push it."

More than expert at reading her sister's face after all those years, Serah wisely let the matter drop, instead turning to the matter of Hope. "Do you mind showing Hope to his room? I have to get started on dinner…"

"I'll get the grill started," Snow headed to the backyard, followed by Sazh – "Sounds like a guy-to-guy bonding moment," the pilot chimed in.

Lightning rolled her eyes, noting Snow's timely exit. "Sure."

Hope picked up his luggage – a heavy backpack and a well-stuffed canvas bag – and followed Lightning up the stairs. She gestured for him to precede her into the room he had found her in before and leaned against the doorframe.

Now that he wasn't focused on calming and consoling Light, Hope took a moment to examine the room. It was a simple room, with a bed jutting out from one wall into the center of the room, a window to the outside world on the left, and the picture-covered desk set against the wall on the right, next to a set of drawers. A partially filled bookcase leaned against the wall next to the door, and a painting of frozen Cocoon had been hung over the headboard to add a homey feel to the room. He tossed his backpack on the bed and dropped the canvas back on the floor; he could unpack later.

"The bathroom's on the other side of the hall," Light said, stepping backwards as Hope leaned out of the room to see where she pointed. "Sazh and Dajh are using the one over here, so we'll be sharing the one on the right – Serah's and Snow's room is the door on the left," she warned him, her tone implying that dangerous things lay beyond that door.

"Wouldn't want to go in there," Hope muttered, and Lightning cracked a small smile. "Look…" he began, straightening up and holding her eyes, a serious expression on his face. "Are you sure you want to sleep on the couch, Light? I know you two are against a guest sleeping there, but I'm fine with it, and you need good sleep since you have work. I wasn't joking when I said I'm a professional at couch-crashing."

Light opened her mouth to protest the implication that she was incapable of sleeping on the couch, but Hope beat her to it. "I know we've both slept on less comfortable surfaces, but there's no reason to sleep on a couch when a more comfortable bed is available," he reasoned, then brightened. "I'll make you a deal. We'll switch back and forth – you can take the bed tonight, and I'll sleep on the couch, then we switch tomorrow night, and so on and so forth."

"Sounds practical," Light was forced to admit; she had not been looking forward to sleeping on the couches, however comfortable they might be.

"I do have good ideas, every once in a while," Hope commented as they headed downstairs.

"Like when you drove that juggernaut in the Vile Peaks?" Light reminded him, feeling a smile tugging at her lips.

"Well…it wasn't entirely a bad idea," Hope defended himself. "We were able to move faster, and we didn't have to wear ourselves down fighting all the enemies. It would have worked perfectly if that cliff hadn't been there."

"Right."

"And if we weren't in such a hurry, I'm sure I would've been able to figure out a way to get down the cliff without the juggernaut falling over – but you were insistent that we keep moving, and those soldiers were following us…"

Light let a small chuckle escape at that before getting serious again. "I'm going to help Serah cook. Why don't you keep Snow and Sazh company? There's something about grills that just make guys go crazy."

"Uncle Hope?" Dajh ran over to them, his chocobo fluttering around his head. "Want to play with us?"

Hope adopted a serious face, glancing back and forth between the door through which Snow had vanished, then at Dajh, then Light, before repeating the process. "Sure," he grinned down at the younger boy – _To think, I wasn't much older than him when I met these people…_

"I'll leave you two to your games, then," Light said dryly, and left for the kitchen.

* * *

**So? How'd you like it? I feel like that's a sort of awkward place to end the chapter, but if it got any longer I'd have to split it into two, and the events of this chapter just have to be all together, and and and...**

**iheartsnow: Yeah...I don't have the heart to kill Fang, or Vanille - or any of the characters! Well, at least, not right now. Who knows what might happen later... And while I feel like a bad person saying "I'm glad you stayed up past your bedtime!", I really am glad that you considered the story good enough to lose sleep over! And happy readers are very important...must keep the readers happy... As for Despair, I'm not going to say anything yet, though he definitely leans towards a "lady's man" sort of character...haha. And we'll see - there might be a scene where Lightning beats up certain people, but maybe not...haven't decided yet. O_x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again everyone! Not much to say right now...so enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FFXIII or any of the characters or concepts involved with that story. If I did, wellllll...that'd be awesome.**

* * *

"Is Hope all settled in?" was Serah's first question as Lightning stepped into the pristine, perfectly organized and controlled area that was Serah's kitchen. Glancing over her shoulder from where she stood by the stove, she caught Lightning's nod and returned her attention to the pot before her.

"Anything I can do to help?" Lightning offered, walking up next to her sister to see what she was working on: noodles.

Serah bit her lip in thought, stirring the noodles absentmindedly. "Would you mind washing the vegetables? There should be some carrots and zucchinis in the fridge…" she trailed off as Lightning moved to the fridge, pulling out the items Serah had mentioned – she knew her sister's fridge almost as well as she knew her own. "Cut them into pieces about this big when they're clean," Serah added, measuring off a good half-inch with her fingers. "Snow has this crazy idea about wrapping them in foil and grilling them, but we'll see how that works out."

Lightning moved to the sink to do as her sister had requested, setting the vegetables on a cutting board once they were clean. "So why exactly did you want everyone to come over so suddenly?" she asked nonchalantly; she had her own suspicions, but was curious what Serah's reasons were.

"Is it wrong for old friends to gather every once in a while?" Serah asked, equally nonchalant, then giggled. "Though it's not just that, of course. Don't you realize what the day after tomorrow is, Claire?"

Her hands moving mechanically to remove the ends from the vegetables, Lightning frowned. "Is it Dajh's birthday?" she guessed.

"No – that was last month," Serah corrected her. "Really, Claire. You don't remember?" Serah sounded exasperated now.

Lightning rolled her eyes as she diced the vegetables. "If I knew, I would have said so," she responded, keeping the annoyance out of her voice – she knew Serah didn't mean to be aggravating.

"Ugh. You're impossible," Serah came up next to her, leaning over the counter to look up at Lightning. "You really don't remember?" At Lightning's glare, she backed off. "Well then, this'll be interesting. But anyways, don't worry about that, then. Guess what the day after the day after tomorrow is?"

"How long is this guessing game going to go on?"

"Someone's touchy," Serah pouted, returning to her noodles. "It'll be seven years exactly as of Wednesday since we all met. Seven years since you all became l'Cie."

Lightning paused in her cutting. Something about that struck a note, but she had been working so much recently she simply couldn't call to mind what it was that Serah's statement had reminded her of. "Really."

"Yeah. Besides, we haven't all really been able to see each other since Snow and I got married – Hope's been working so hard at university, and Sazh's been caught up with his piloting, and…" she trailed off, but Lightning knew what she had been about to add: It just wasn't the same without Fang and Vanille. "While I might have been asleep in crystal stasis during all your adventuring, I still could hear and see everything you guys did since Snow kept my crystal tear, and it just doesn't feel the same when we aren't all together." She sniffled, and Lightning sighed, setting down the knife she had been wielding against the defenseless vegetables to comfort her sister.

Serah turned obediently, hugging Lightning and burying her face in her sister's shoulder as a few tears escaped. "I wish they were here now," she choked out. "It's not fair that they should be trapped in crystal, forever, while we just go on with our lives!"

"You know what Fang would say if she were here. 'Don't you dare think about saving us'," she said in a passable Fang imitation. "'Only think of yourselves from now on, or else.'"

Serah giggled at that, stepping out of her sister's embrace and wiping her cheeks dry. "Thanks, Claire," she said, summoning the strength to smile brightly up at her sister.

"Tch," Lightning shrugged it off, feeling embarrassed now that the moment had passed. She returned to the vegetables, quickly dicing up the last zucchini. "So how is Snow planning on grilling these?"

"Aluminum foil," Serah shrugged, checking on the noodles before fetching said item for her sister. "Here – just rip off a squareish piece, then put in some of the vegetables, add a little bit of this and that…" she grabbed a few containers of crushed herbs, adding a pinch of each to the vegetables, "then just crimp the edges. It should work – we've done something similar before."

Deciding that there were some things you pointed out in the moment, and others you looked back on with an 'I told you so' expression, Lightning decided to just do as Serah had demonstrated, dividing the vegetables up into six roughly equal foil packages. "I'll take these out to Snow, then," she told Serah, and gathered up the packages before matching words to actions.

* * *

As often as she visited her sister and the idiot, it had been a while since Lightning had last been in their backyard. They had done a good job of keeping it alive: plush, springy grass covered most of the area, with a small garden along one edge, its flowers in full-bloom with the joy of spring. Snow's prized grill was on a concrete slab well away from the house – an attempt by Serah, no doubt, to ensure that Snow couldn't accidentally catch the house on fire when distracted while grilling – and a small table was next to it. Snow and Sazh stood by the grill, Snow with a metal spatula in one hand as he flipped over the meat he had been grilling, Sazh with a slightly concerned expression as he looked on.

"Snow, you can't just throw the food in the air," the older man was saying as Snow carelessly tossed the meat in the air while flipping it. "You're going to miss and hit someone -" he sighed, giving up as Snow promptly burned his left arm with a flying piece of meat. "Oh, hey Lightning."

"Listen to him, Snow," Lightning scolded the fool, setting the foil-wrapped vegetables on the table as she inspected Snow's forearm. "You'll be fine – now stop trying to show off. Serah isn't watching, Sazh doesn't care, and if you ruin dinner it won't be us that Serah gets mad at." Before he had a chance to protest, Sazh had jumped in.

"Have you seen Dajh?" the worried parent asked. Ever since the events of seven years ago, Sazh had been a little overprotective of his son, though he had been more relaxed when they last gathered.

"He snagged Hope," the soldier shrugged. "It looked like they were going to play together, though I didn't see them inside. They might be upstairs."

Sazh muttered an absentminded thanks, already heading inside. Snow watched him leave, but was called back to attention by a pain in his shoulder.

"Ow," he complained, giving Lightning a confused look. "What was that for, sis?"

"If you're so determined to grill dinner, then pay attention. You're working with fire – and I'm not your sister."

"You might as well be," Snow said conversationally, but turned his attention back to the grill. "Sister-in-law is just a fancy way of saying we're bound by bonds stronger than blood."

"Right," Lightning rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, a typical action around Snow. "I only put up with you because somehow, you manage to make Serah happy. Screw that up, and -"

"And you'll kill me, I know," Snow responded, for once absolutely serious. "And I won't – I promise. Just like every time you've threatened me before."

"Well, you haven't promised enough yet," Lightning warned him, but it lacked some of her usual heat. "Keep your eyes on the grill – don't forget who it is you're trying to impress." With that, she walked back inside; it was bad enough that she had to put up with him in company.

* * *

"Hey, Uncle Hope?" Dajh asked. He and Hope were currently lying on the carpeted floor in the room that Dajh and Sazh were sharing, playing a game of Cocoon and Pulsian chess, essentially a reenactment of the War of Transgression: the king and queen on each side were fal'Cie, with a variety of support, including Cie'th as pawns, l'Cie as bishops – and, of course, Dajh's favorite part: the knights rode chocobos.

"You don't need to call me 'uncle'," Hope told the younger boy, feeling a tad embarrassed as he moved one of his Cie'th. "I'm not much older than you, after all."

Dajh grinned over at him, capturing the Cie'th Hope had just moved. "Okay then, Hope. Does Lightning scare you?"

For a moment, Hope had to fight the strong temptation to shrug the question off, as if he had misunderstood what sort of 'Lightning' Dajh was referring to – but in the end, he decided to remain serious. "She used to."

Dajh looked at him curiously, so Hope went on as he moved one of his chocobo knights. "When I first saw her, she frightened me a bit. She was always so violent, and so skilled with her gunblade – I knew she could kill me as easy as save me. But she didn't scare me as much later. Why?"

The boy looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Her glares scare me."

Hope laughed openly at that, earning an unhappy frown from Dajh as the younger boy moved his vestige tower. "It's not funny!"

"No, it isn't," Hope calmed down, brushing away the faint tears his laughter had evoked. He studied the board for a moment, then advanced a Cie'th. "Her glares are scary," he agreed, resting his chin on one hand as he looked over at the boy. "Sometimes, I think she practices in front of the mirror every morning to make her glares so perfectly threatening."

"Yeah!" Dajh moved a Cie'th in response. "When Serah glares, it's usually just cute, and I think Snow doesn't take her very seriously, even if he acts like it. But when Lightning glares, he's so quick to do what she says."

"Snow is a…" Hope trailed off, realizing what he had begun to say – 'Snow is a wise man' – was so completely and utterly false that even Dajh wouldn't believe it. "Snow can be smart sometimes," he said instead. "Not always, but he has his moments." He studied the board a moment, then triumphantly moved a vestige forward. "Check."

Dajh frowned, his eyes intent on the board before he moved his 'king' fal'Cie out of harm's way – for the moment, at least. "What do you think about Lightning?"

When he was younger – not too long ago, really – Hope would have flushed at this question, stuttered and stumbled his way around a nonsense answer, and changed the subject at the first chance possible – a tactic, he had learned while at university, had a one-hundred-percent success rate…of accomplishing exactly what he did not want. Instead, he had learned to adopt a more nonchalant front: "W-what? Why?" He was grateful that Dajh was once more focused on the board, awaiting Hope's next move more than his response, because his cheeks had begun to flush. Cursing himself in the back of his mind – Dajh had most likely begun the conversation as a way to distract Hope from the game, a strategy that was unfortunately beginning to work – Hope studied the board and moved his queen-side l'Cie.

"Just wondering," Dajh said, moving one of his Cie'th out of the knight's range of attack. "Dad's always saying how you two get along so well, even though Lightning pretty much hated your guts when you met."

"I was a bit of a liability," Hope admitted. He moved his l'Cie, capturing a Cie'th Dajh hadn't noticed.

"So what changed?" Dajh looked up, and Hope had a sinking feeling that the boy would continue asking questions until he got the answers he sought.

Hope shifted his position, crossing his arms on the carpet and resting his chin on their junction. "I'm not entirely sure," he said thoughtfully.

Dajh frowned, sitting up and scooting closer to the board. "Well, something must have changed," he insisted. "She doesn't hate your guts anymore."

"Oh?" Hope glanced up at the younger boy, feeling amused. "And how do you know that, oh all-knowing Dajh? Has she taken you into her confidence?"

"No, of course not," Dajh rolled his eyes. "But – well, she's always glaring at Snow, because she really doesn't like him, you know? And she doesn't glare at you. At least, she doesn't do her Lightning-death-glares at you. It's…I don't know, softer. Kind of like she does for Serah – more of a, 'did you really have to?' and less of a, 'you are so dead'." He glanced at the board as an afterthought, idly moving his 'queen' fal'Cie to capture one of Hope's Cie'th.

Seeing an opening, Hope took it, and moved one of his vestiges to create an inescapable trap. "Checkmate."

"What? Wait!" Dajh frowned at the board, interrogating Hope forgotten for the moment. "Aww, darn."

"Dajh?" Sazh's voice floated in through the open door. "Are up here?"

"Yeah, dad," Dajh said loudly, standing up and stepping over the board and Hope to look out into the hallway. "I'm right here." Hope rolled over and sat up, twisting to crack his back.

"Okay. Just checking up on you. Is Hope with you?" Sazh appeared next to Dajh. "Serah says dinner should be ready soon, unless Snow manages to mess up the meat."

* * *

**So how was it? **

**iheartsnow: I will not make any statements as to the dying or not-dying of any of the characters...but I don't think you have to worry about it :) I mostly just inserted that as a just-in-case something changed later on, so I wouldn't have angry readers and reviewers saying "BUT YOU PROMISED!" And I totally understand about the bedtime thing XD don't worry, I didn't think you were 8 or anything - heck, I'm in college and I have a "bedtime" of sorts :). As for the rest of your review...keep reading, and you'll see! Thanks again for being such an awesomely faithful reviewer!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Sorry this is late...I had it mostly ready yesterday, but my computer lost the file! However, be happy, because this chapter is now longer than usual - I just couldn't cut anything out, or move anything to the next chapter (I already moved quite a bit...) - and the ending just worked so perfect - and I wanted to get this posted. Excuses excuses, I know...I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FFXIII :( I do, however, own the two OC's that appear at the end of the chapter! (Whoops. Spoiler...)**

* * *

Dinner had been a laid-back, easygoing affair. Snow had managed to burn neither meat nor vegetables, though he favored his left forearm slightly, and Serah served buttered and herbed noodles as a non-grilled side. It felt weird for everyone to be back together again, Hope thought, though he enjoyed the easy camaraderie the group shared. It had been so long since they had last eaten together, and even longer since their adventure, and while the peace currently enjoyed by the Cocoon settlers on Pulse was nice, he honestly missed the constant uncertainty of what would happen next, the day-by-day give and take of a group of relative strangers constantly on edge from the threat of turning Cie'th.

So when Lightning said she was turning in for the night to be ready for an early patrol – apparently, she had explained the arrangement she and Hope had made to Serah, who must have agreed – he couldn't resist the urge to ask if he could join her.

Lightning had raised a curious eyebrow, but had said it should be fine, considering the area she was assigned to patrol the next day was mostly free of monsters, and adding that just because he was joining her didn't mean that he could steal the bed.

He had grinned at that, but decided not to push his luck and simply repeated the fact that he was quite proficient at couch-crashing. Lightning had simply rolled her eyes at that and gone upstairs.

"Why would you want to go on patrol?" Serah asked with a frown after her sister had vanished. "You're supposed to be on vacation."

"I am on vacation," Hope assured her. "I just need a different kind of vacation."

Serah continued to frown, but Snow seemed to understand, oddly enough. "Miss the good old days?" the ex-NORA member asked.

"Something like that," Hope nodded, then turned joking. "I need to get back into shape, after all. All that studying off at university has made me soft."

"Really now?" Sazh said, pointedly eyeing the young man. "You look like you've toughened up since you started all this mechanic-ing."

Hope smiled in thanks. "We'll see what Light thinks tomorrow."

* * *

After years at university, one might think that Hope would have remembered to set an alarm when he needed to get up early.

Unfortunately for Hope, he hadn't.

There was no warning for poor Hope as his world tilted, and he went rolling off the couch and collided side-first with the floor, the carpet doing nothing to cushion his fall.

"Ugh…what the hell?" Hope grumbled, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes and stand up at the same time.

"You were the one who said you wanted to join me on patrol this morning," a familiar voice penetrated his sleepy mind, more effective than a bucket of ice water at waking him up fully.

"I'll be ready in ten minutes," Hope promised, scrambling to his feet and racing upstairs. Light chuckled to herself, sipping her cup of coffee – straight black – as she heard him stumble and curse softly. Within a few minutes, the shower could be heard from upstairs. Feeling gracious that morning – well, gracious after that abrupt wake-up call – she headed into the kitchen and began scrambling some eggs for breakfast. True, cereal would have been much faster; but it was important to get proper nutrition in the morning, or else one would have trouble focusing the rest of the day, and a lack of focus was a sure-fire way to die on patrol. Spotting a loaf of bread, she pulled out a cutting board and a knife, slicing off four pieces and placing two in the toaster. She went back and forth until both toast and eggs were done, then buttered two pieces of toast, slid half the eggs onto each piece, and completed the to-go breakfasts by placing the last two pieces of toast on top.

As if on cue, Hope ran down the stairs, dressed in a utilitarian pair of long pants and an unadorned green t-shirt. "Sorry," he began apologizing immediately. "I could have sworn I set an alarm – we're not late, are we?" He ran a hand through his half-dried hair, making a few tufts stick up at awkward angles.

"We'll be on time if we leave now," Light replied, half-wrapping the egg sandwiches with disposable napkins and offering one to him. "You ready?"

They strode through Bodhum as the sun rose, the streets empty of their daytime life. When Hope asked how they would be getting to the local GC headquarters, Light had responded that an early-morning walk never hurt anyone – then added that it wasn't far enough away to warrant driving, and too early to use any form of public transportation. Sure enough, they arrived at the building just as they were finishing their breakfasts, and the two men on guard woke up just enough to acknowledge Light before half-dozing against the wall once more.

"They seem relaxed," Hope commented, feeling confused.

"They're fools," was Light's response as she led him through the maze-like structure of the hallways. "New recruits, put on guard duty because they cannot hold their own in the field. They'll either toughen up – or die."

Hope remained silent after that, and they soon arrived at Lt. Amodar's office. Light knocked three times in quick succession, then went inside without waiting for a response.

"Lieutenant Amodar, sir," she saluted, and the drowsy man behind the desk waved for her to be at ease. "Reporting in for patrol duty, sir."

"And who's the shadow behind you?" Amodar teased, taking a large gulp of the coffee on his desk to wake himself up. "I don't recall seeing his face among the newbies."

"A friend, sir. He's in town for the week, and requested to join me on patrol. He is not untrained, sir."

Hope heard the odd double-negative in Light's statement, feeling it wasn't exactly a compliment, but Amodar just laughed. "A high compliment coming from you, Lightning. Well, that works then. Sergeant Mikael called in sick this morning – again," the man's cheerful air became a frown, and he felt Light tense beside him. "Well, you know the drill – check back in when you're done, keep an eye open for anything suspicious, and report in if you find anything unnatural." He leaned forward and began reading over the papers on his desk, a silent dismissal.

Light saluted once more then turned and left, Hope on her heels. She was radiating unease, seeming tenser than usual.

"Something wrong?" Hope asked, keeping his tone light as they wound their way through the hallways.

"We're losing people," was Light's quiet response. "They stop reporting in, call in sick, then…stop calling altogether." She shook her head sharply. "Right now, we need to get you a weapon. Unless you brought one with you?" she glanced pointedly at his empty hands and lack of anything threatening on his person. "Right. What's your weapon of choice? Boomerangs aren't standard, but the rookies need weapons to train with before they earn their own – take your pick," she stopped, tugging open a door, and gesturing for him to enter a well-lit room.

Hope glanced around, a little startled by the sheer amount of weaponry in the room – the walls were covered with shelves, the shelves with a variety of weapons and boxes of ammunition and spare parts. Spotting a familiar weapon, he made his way to one corner of the room, picking it up and twisting it this way and that to re-familiarize himself with its shape. "This should work," he told Light, handing it to her to inspect.

"A Blazefire Saber," she murmured, repeating his earlier actions of turning it this way and that. As she slid the blade out to test its balance before retracting it to feel its heft as a gun, he glanced at her holster, catching sight of her Lionheart. "You know how to use it?"

"I've had a bit of practice," he said evasively, but elaborated when she glanced at him. "It was an easy job when I started at Palumpolum U – they needed people to patrol and make sure the campus was safe, since it was situated on the edge of the new Palumpolum, and, well…I'd had practice. The local branch of the Guardian Corps trained a few of us to use them so we wouldn't be completely defenseless."

Light continued to look at him a moment, as if weighing the truth of his statements, then nodded and handed him the gunblade he had chosen. "Don't forget ammo," she reminded him, then left to wait in the hall.

As he picked out an ammo bag that could be tied to his belt and filled it, Hope thanked whatever higher beings might be listening that she had accepted his mostly-true story and not questioned why the Guardian Corps had trusted a teenager with such a weapon – a weapon which, before Cocoon's fall, had only been given to the most skilled soldiers. It saved him from the embarrassment of admitting just how much he had watched her during their time as l'Cie, how he had memorized her every move during their multitude of battles.

When he emerged from the room, his ammo bag full and tied securely to his belt, gunblade in hand, Light merely raised an eyebrow then began leading him through the halls once more, this time to the outside world. Although she was completely silent within the building, once they had emerged into the morning sun, she began to explain the route they would be patrolling. It was a simple route, mostly flat with a little bit of elevation change as they approached a hill range to the west, and – if all went according to plan – they should be able to report back in before lunch.

"According to plan?" Hope asked, feeling disturbed by that qualifier.

"That we only run into the usual beasts – Gorgonopsids, Uridimmu, and the like – and nothing too big."

For the most part, their patrol went, in Light's words, according to plan. They had found a few groups of Gorgonopsids and dispatched them with ease – the soldier was pleasantly surprised to see that Hope really did know how to use a gunblade, and offered him a few tips to help him improve – as well as a cluster or two of the tomato-esque Hybrid Flan, and had decided to stop for a moment to drink a potion or two before finishing the last third of their patrol.

Why Hope's gunblade had been out of reach when the ground began to shake, he berated himself later. Light was on her feet, empty potion bottle cast aside and blade in hand as Hope darted for his own gunblade, fumbling to get the blade out as he turned to join her, his eyes searching for the source of the earth-rumbling disturbance. When he spotted it, he felt his spirits sink; there was no way this could be part of Light's "plan".

"This will be interesting," Light commented dryly, confirming his suspicions as she watched the Adamanchelid making its way across the plain, its slow plodding rattling the earth.

"I'll say," Hope rolled his eyes. "They were hard enough when we were l'Cie – and at least then we had magic." He scanned the area, hoping to find some way to bring the beast down to their level. "It's too close to the Bodhum settlement – if we just let it be, it'll wreak havoc on the outer buildings." Spotting something, he grabbed Light's arm, pointing to the fallen tree and quickly explaining his plan.

Light raised an eyebrow. It was a crazy plan…but crazy plans did have the best chances of working. The pair ran across the plain towards the tree, Light switching her weapon to gun mode and peppering the Adamanchelid's side with bullets. The beast roared with annoyance, deviating from its prior path to focus on crushing the pesky fleas that dared to attack it.

From the other side, Hope waited until the tortoise-like beast was about to step on the tree, then darted in, stabbing his blade into one foot and yanking it down. Befuddled, the Adamanchelid tried to continue forward with its free forefoot, but it got caught on the tree and came tumbling down.

Light was ready, her blade at the beast's throat and dealing the death blow before it could begin to rise. Blood spurted out, a few drops splattering the pair as the beast's final convulsions became weaker and finally stopped.

"Not bad," Light said, wiping her blade on the grass; it would need serious cleaning later.

Hope half-grinned, focused on prying his blade out of the Adamanchelid's foot. "It's not the first time I've seen one since the fall," he admitted. "One came close to Palumpolum U a few years back. The Corps there took care of it, using a similar method. I figured if they could do it, we could too." Finally, the blade slid free, and he cleaned it as best he could on the grass before retracting the blade.

They finished the patrol in silence; after felling the Adamanchelid, Light had been silent, and Hope, unsure if her silence was good or bad, decided that the best response would be silence. The pair dispatched the few beasts they came across, but their return trip was overall rather uneventful. When they reached the Corps building, Light finally spoke, directing Hope to return to the room where he had borrowed his gunblade to clean it, then return it and the unused shells to their proper place, and she would meet him outside after making her report to Lt. Amodar. With that, she strode off, leaving Hope slightly confused and more than a little lost.

He wandered a bit until he found someone in uniform, then asked them where the weapons room was. From the expression on the man's face, he must have looked like a recruit, and the man haughtily gave him directions before saying he had important things to do and leaving. Feeling grateful that Light wasn't – usually – like that, Hope followed the man's directions.

* * *

Light knocked on Lt. Amodar's door, feeling oddly weary; with Hope's help, the patrol had been easier than usual. She opened the door and stepped inside, giving the customary salute and waiting for Amodar's response before beginning the report. She was short and to the point; she wanted nothing more than to go home and take a shower, to clean her blade and relax as much as possible with a house full of people. When she came to the Adamanchelid, she was startled out of her automatic reporting by Amodar's laugh.

"You tripped the beast?" he repeated. "Oh, that'll be a story to tell the recruits – scare them into submission, at least."

"With all due respect, the idea was Hope's, sir," Lightning felt obliged to add. "He said he took the idea from the method used by the regiment at the Palumpolum settlement a few years back."

"I do recall hearing something of that nature…" Amodar trailed off, then waved one hand. "What of the rest of the patrol?"

Light finished mechanically, then waited silently for Amodar's reaction.

"Not too bad then, huh?" Amodar stroked his chin thoughtfully. "We'll send out a squad to harvest that Adamanchelid's shell – we need the resources now more than ever. Very well then; you're dismissed, sergeant."

Lightning saluted, turned, and left, closing the door gently behind her. Ignoring the looks she got, she strode quickly through the halls towards the entrance, nearly running into Hope as he, too, headed towards the exit.

"Ready to go?" she asked, barely waiting for his answering nod before throwing open the doors and stepping out into the sunlight, walking quickly down the street.

* * *

When the pair arrived back at Serah's house, the rest of the temporarily expanded household was up and about, playing a board game in the middle of the living room.

"How was work, sis?" Snow asked, catching sight of them.

"I'm not your sister," Lightning replied tiredly, but otherwise ignored him, instead turning to Hope. "Go ahead and clean up. I need to take care of my gunblade."

Hope raised an eyebrow, but decided that now was not the time to argue, and instead clapped her on the shoulder by way of thanks and headed upstairs. Hearing her sister's comment, Serah stood, leaving the room for a moment and returning with a small box, which Lightning took before heading into the backyard.

"Sis looks tired," Snow commented after the soldier had left.

"Must have been a hard day's work," Sazh shrugged. They heard a shower turn on upstairs, and Serah sat back down with the others.

"Maybe they had to fight an Adamantortoise!" Dajh offered brightly.

Snow laughed outright at that. "Don't be silly. There's nothing that big near Bodhum; all the big beasties were scared off years ago."

"Weirder things have happened," Sazh said wisely, setting down his cards; it appeared the game was forgotten for the moment.

"Yeah, but nothing _that_ weird," Snow snorted.

"How weird?" Lightning asked, coming back inside and leaning against the back of the couch.

"Already done?" Serah asked.

"For now. A few parts just need to soak for a bit; we ran into an Adamanchelid, and the blood's caked in some hard-to-reach places," she said offhandedly. Hope came downstairs, rubbing a towel through his hair to dry it, and she straightened. "Hope can tell you all about it; I'm going to shower."

"All about what?" Hope asked, his voice muffled as the towel fell in front of his face.

"You fought an Adamanchelid?" Dajh exclaimed, springing up, and Hope sent a nasty look at Lightning as she passed by, which she just waved off with a small grin.

* * *

Lightning came back down a few minutes later, her hair still damp from the shower, now dressed in civilian's clothing. Hope had finished relating their encounter with the Adamanchelid; the board game had been put away, and the group was relaxing, just talking about this and that. As Lightning claimed a seat on the couch, someone knocked on the door, and Serah nudged Snow.

"Go answer it," she ordered him, and her husband stood, rolling his eyes, to see who was at the door. "It should be Despair and his friend - we're having lunch with them, remember?" She stood and looked at the others as he left. "Everyone ready?"

"Hey there, buddy!" Snow's voice echoed from the doorway. "The others will be out in a moment."

"No worries," Despair's response floated down, gentler and smoother than Snow's booming voice. "It is our fault for changing plans at the last minute."

Sazh and Dajh followed Serah to the doorway, Lightning a beat behind him. Feeling torn, Hope grabbed the soldier's arm, holding her back for a moment. "You should probably try not to hurt that Despair guy too much when you see him," he said, rolling his eyes. "It might annoy Serah if she has to call an ambulance because her sister beat up her friend."

Light frowned, but nodded. "He's annoying, but I'm not about to make a scene about it."

Satisfied, Hope let go and the two followed the others outside. Snow and Despair were chatting easily, Sazh listening in, while Serah and Dajh were talking to a woman Hope hadn't seen before.

Lightning, however, recognized her immediately.

"You!" she shouted, stepping forward purposefully, but Hope held her back.

"Well hello there, soldier girl," the woman said, her voice lilting as she raised an eyebrow, her rose-hued eyes taking in Lightning's annoyed expression. "It seems we meet again."

* * *

**BWAHAHAHA! Certain people are finally making non-cameo appearances! And of course, I have to end with a cliffhanger :) I haven't had a chance to do that for so long (at least, that's how it feels...). The next chapter should be up with the usual speed - I'm already started on it, and (while I do have a ton of homework), my homework load at this point isn't too bad - so watch your inbox for the next installment!**

**iheartsnow: Aww, thanks! That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :) As for Dajh, I figured after going through the whole l'Cie thing at a young age, I couldn't just make him be a fool or something...that, and he has to help the plot in some way ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Agh! In a bit of a hurry - but here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FFXIII...I do own Despair and Astra, though!**

* * *

"Claire, you know Astra?" Serah asked, confused.

"More or less," the dark-haired woman replied with a laugh. "We happened to run into each other a few days ago - I was having some issues, and soldier girl here helped to straighten me out." She flashed a charming smile at Lightning, her rose eyes dancing with amusement. "I wanted to thank you for saving me."

Lightning relaxed a bit - perhaps she had been mistaken? But this girl had been such a bitch when they met at the station...take it slow, perhaps. "I was just doing my job," she replied evenly, focusing on relaxing. She shrugged, and Hope let go of her arm. "It would have been troublesome if I had not stopped you."

"That it would have," Astra murmured, turning to the others. "Are we ready to head out? I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving, you know?"

Something about the way she talked bothered Lightning, but that was a matter for another time; causing trouble today would only annoy Serah. Instead, she followed the group quietly, her eyes roving back and forth from Despair, with his dark-silver hair and mysterious forest green eyes, to Astra. Now that they were outside, rather than in the dimmer train station, Lightning could see that the girl's hair was a deep violet color, with an overtone of blue; dyed, most likely. While Despair captured the spotlight, easily creating and controlling the conversation, Astra faded towards the background, studying the others much like Lightning was studying her, and taking part in the conversation every once in a while.

"Something bothering you?" Sazh asked her. He had dropped back from the others, most likely out of a well-intentioned plan to keep her company.

"It's nothing," Lightning brushed aside his concern. "Just that we seem to keep meeting strangers under the oddest of circumstances."

"That we do," Sazh shrugged. "But I figure as long as they aren't hostile, why worry about it? PSICOM's gone, the fal'Cie are trapped on Cocoon. The only threats now are from the outside - why create more threats when we already have enough to worry about?"

"Right," Lightning murmured. For the moment, that seemed to satisfy the old pilot, and he rejoined the main group.

"How does soup sound to everyone?" Serah was asking. "I know this good restaurant not too far from here; they have really good soups and stews, and sandwiches for anyone who doesn't want a hot meal."

"Sounds good," Despair nodded. "Claire, is that fine with you?" He turned around, walking backwards as he caught Lightning's eyes.

For a moment, Lightning was completely caught off guard. She saw something in those dark depths that she did not recognize, and it scared her even as it intrigued her; she wanted to know more, to see what secrets lay beyond that charming facade. Something in those forest green eyes drew her in, invited her to know more, welcomed her even. But then she saw his slow grin, and she broke the connection. "The name's Lightning," she glared.

"Light, then," Despair laughed. "Would you just answer the question?"

"Soup sounds fine," she said, crossing her arms. This man seriously irritated her...

He just smiled at her, either ignorant of or simply ignoring her annoyance, and faced forward again. "Soup-stew-sandwich place it is. Serah, would you lead the way?" He executed an elegant bow with a flourish, no easy feat while walking, earning a stifled giggle from Serah and a growl from Snow.

Sliding her hand into her husband's to appease him, she nodded. "This way."

Serah had not been lying when she had said that the restaurant was not far from where they were. She led them on a short series of twists and turns before stopping in front of a building whose sign read "SOUP. STEW. SANDWICHES."

"Looks like they know what's important," Astra joked, her tone tinged with sarcasm, and Despair shot her a look.

"Shall we go inside?" he asked, opening the door and gesturing for the others to head in. As Lightning passed him he smiled charmingly, but she ignored him. Astra, who had seen the one-sided exchange, punched his shoulder none too gently. "Ow! What'd I do?" he asked, his tone almost pitiful.

"Act like an idiot," was Astra's prompt reply as she followed the others inside.

A waiter directed them to the back, where the longer group tables were, and they took their seats. Hope and Serah sat next to Lightning, though Despair claimed the chair across from her, with Astra next to him and across from Hope. Snow sat on the end of the table next to Serah and Dajh, while Sazh sat at the end opposite Snow.

A waitress soon came out to take their drink orders, creating a minor scene when Despair started to flirt with her, but soon enough their drinks were out – waters for everyone, with a sweet fruity drink for Dajh, and a pair of weird multi-colored drinks for Astra and Despair. They turned to their menus, the table silent for the moment save for the occasional spurts of conversation as this or that option was mentioned and discussed. When a waiter came by again – the waitress had fled for good, it seemed – he took everyone's orders and menus, and the group turned to more normal discussion.

"So what do you two do for a living?" Serah asked.

"Nothing," Despair smiled lazily. "Astra does all the work and comes home with money, twice a month like clockwork. I just sit back and enjoy the fringe benefits."

"Idiot," Astra muttered, rolling her eyes. "He does work, sometimes, he just hates admitting it – as a bartender, over on the eastern end of the settlement. What was that place called again?"

"Black Hole."

"You're a bartender?" Hope repeated disbelievingly. "How old _are_ you?"

"Twenty-eight," was Despair's easy reply. "And believe me, that's plenty old to be serving fancy drinks to people who just want to get drunk and forget the night. Anyways, I don't work every night; I just fill in when Irie needs a break, or when they're expecting a large crowd."

"I bet that has some nice side-effects for you, Astra," Snow laughed. "An in-house bartender, drinks whenever you want them."

"I can't drink," Astra grumbled, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms. "Not yet twenty-one, and besides, alcohol clouds your senses. It's a foolish thing."

"A completely dry college student," Despair shook his head with a sigh. "Such a wondrous thing – you'd think all those college students these days are drunk day in and day out, but she won't even touch anything alcoholic."

The former l'Cie all shot speculative looks at Hope. "Hey, I don't get drunk!" he defended himself. "I'm on-call half the week in case the university's airships break down – you have to be sober when working with something that big."

"You a student too, then?" Astra asked, leaning forward interestedly. "What's your focus?"

Her choice of words was unfortunate, perhaps, but Hope ignored it. "Mechanics. I've done a bit with the larger public transportation units, but I've a knack for weaponry."

"Sweet," Astra grinned. "I'm a bit of a weapons-person myself. I'm studying design and whatnot – trying to make it safer for the people who protect us to do their job right."

"Really?" Hope was caught, and the two began talking back and forth animatedly. Snow shrugged at Sazh, as if to say 'kids will be kids', and the pilot rolled his eyes back.

"So how is it, being a bartender?" Serah asked.

"Exciting," Despair grinned. "We get all sorts of weird people in the Hole, and you hear so many stories from the people too drunk to realize who they're talking to. Of course, there's the occasional drunk brawl, but for the most part our customers know better than to get too rowdy."

He broke off as the waiter returned with their dishes, and there was a lull in the conversation as everyone began eating. Snow tore into his sandwich with vigor, while Serah delicately sipped at her soup. Dajh, being a growing boy, had eagerly ordered his stew in a bread bowl, and dunked the 'top' into the hot stew before taking a bite. Astra stirred her stew, more interested in continuing her conversation with Hope than in eating; Hope wavered back and forth between eating and talking, managing to find some sort of balance. Despair ate in silence, for once not striking up conversation with anyone else as he ate his soup. Sazh, like his son, had ordered his stew in a bread bowl, and was eating stew and bread in equal parts. Lightning swirled her soup a bit before taking a tentative sip.

"So what sort of work do you do, Light?" Despair asked with a lopsided grin, setting his spoon down for the moment in favor of focusing on her.

"I kill things," Lightning replied, her tone completely flat and uninflected, her expression serious.

But Despair was unfazed; instead, he seemed intrigued. "Really now? Well then, that means you must be either an assassin for hire…or a soldier of some sort," he mused. "Let me guess…you don't strike me as the assassin type – hair like that is too noticeable, too easily remembered, so there goes that idea. As for soldiering…you're too controlled to be paramilitary; so, some sort of public-sector work. I would say PSICOM – you have that air of deadly seriousness – but PSICOM's gone, and you don't strike me as completely ruthless." He paused for a moment, then nodded to himself. "You're in the Guardian Corps. Bodhum Security Regiment, I'd assume, unless you're here on vacation."

Astra and Hope had dropped their conversation to listen, and the former rolled her rose-hued eyes at her friend's dramatic proclamation. "And you're a fool for asking the question in the first place. Look at what she's wearing: standard Guardian Corps uniform, minus the arm-plate. Now stop showing off and eat your soup."

"It's not entirely standard," Despair argued, losing his serious face with his childish protest. "It varies from region to region – and the cape's far from standard."

"Whatever you say, idiot." Astra took a bite of her stew, effectively ending the conversation.

"So what's your story?" Sazh asked. At the pair's confused looks, he elaborated, "How'd you meet, all that."

"Our story…" Despair mused, leaning back in his chair and looking thoughtful. "Where to begin?"

"We met about seven years ago, in the chaos after the fall," Astra answered, ignoring Despair's comments. "We sort of got along, so we just went from there. We haven't killed each other yet, so we must be doing something right." She returned to her soup; apparently, she considered that answer enough.

"What of your family?" Dajh asked, looking at Despair.

"Well, they…" the man seemed lost for words; for some reason, his gaze drifted to Lightning and Hope, before he turned back to Dajh with a wry smile. "We really don't have any family. We're loners."

"But you have a mom and dad, right?" Dajh persisted.

"We don't remember life on Cocoon," Astra said flatly. "That time is gone. We can only move forward and live in the time we have now."

"Is that true?" Serah asked, looking concerned.

"I'm afraid so," Despair shrugged. "But it's no big deal. Honestly, I think it's a gift in disguise: since we don't remember life on Cocoon, we don't miss it, or lament about what we had that we've lost. We can just live in the now, and make the best of what we have." He grinned, and began eating his soup.

Another lull in the conversation. Hope and Astra began talking mechanics again, and Sazh joined in this time as the discussion turned towards airships. At the other end of the table, Dajh was telling Snow and Serah about a herd of chocobos he and his dad had seen a year or two back, his hands gesturing excitedly.

Lightning finished her soup; unfortunate, perhaps, since Despair noticed and immediately began talking.

"So what's the story with your group?" was his first question. He propped up one elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. "How did such a diverse group become such good friends?"

"What do you mean?"

He shot her a look that said 'don't play dumb', but humored her question. "Well, there's Snow over there – now him, I'd say he's paramilitary; he's too volatile and spurious for regimented military. Then there's Serah; those two are a pair, I can see that. Then there's Sazh – how does an older man get involved with the younger folk? And he's a son, too, but no wife has been mentioned. And Hope's just a college student – the youngest in your group. Most college students don't hang out with married couples and old men over break; there's got to be some story there. And then," he paused slightly, "there's you."

Lightning simply sipped her water, waiting for him to go on, so he did.

"By the look of things, I'd say your Serah's sister – older, of course. That explains the Guardian Corps; you'd want to protect your baby sister, after all. Sazh appears to be a pilot; he sure knows a lot about aircraft, at least – perhaps he piloted one of your missions back on Cocoon, though he sounds more private-sector than military. That still doesn't explain the kid, though."

When it became obvious he wasn't planning on continuing, Lightning shrugged. "We're a group of circumstance, I guess. Right place, right time."

"Could be," Despair allowed. "But then, that doesn't explain why you're all so close. I know a lot about circumstance, trust me – and people you just happen to meet at the right place and the right time don't become lifelong friends, unless there's something else that acts as a catalyst."

Lightning remained silent, and the arrival of the waiter to remove the empty bowls and plates. The courteous host, he asked if they wanted dessert. No – would they like some coffee or tea? No? Well then, here was the bill; thank you for coming.

Snow went to take the bill, but Serah grabbed it before he could, reminding him that math was never his strong suit, and she could handle this. As she read it over, Despair pulled a thin card out of his pocket, and placed it in the small black folder over the receipt Serah was trying to read.

"For our share," he said.

"Thanks," Serah smiled, slipping out her own card and placing it over his. When the waiter came around to pick it up, she explained the situation, and he nodded and left. A few moments later, he came back, and Serah handed Despair his card.

"We ready to go?" Snow asked, standing. The rest of the group followed his lead, and they exited the building into the bright sun of early afternoon.

"I really enjoyed meeting you all," Astra said, smiling at the group in general, though her expression brightened when it landed on Hope. "I'd love to see you again sometime."

"Definitely," Despair nodded. "It's not often you find people you get along with so well."

"Sounds good to me," Sazh shrugged. "Though, Dajh and I won't be in town too long – if I'm gone too long I might lose my job."

"Well then, make the best of the week we have," Despair grinned. "Forget the past, don't worry about the future, just live in the present."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at that – after all, one's motivation to continue forward came from the past – but Hope spoke before she could. "What if we met up tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me," Astra smiled.

"You two could come over for coffee and tea, and we could play some games," Snow added.

"Do you have work?" Serah asked her sister.

"Unfortunately, no."

"Then it's a date~!" Despair declared. "We'll be there, oh, early afternoon? When would be a good time?"

"Let's say two."

"Want to come over for dinner?"

"We wouldn't want to impose…"

"It'll be fine. Come over at four – we'll eat at…"

"Six should be good."

"We can play a board game or something – great icebreakers."

"Sound good to everyone?"

"Yeah!"

"Then tomorrow it is."

* * *

**And there it is! Hope you liked it!**

**iheartsnow: That it does :) And I'm glad you laughed! Laughing 30 minutes a day makes you live longer :D And yeah...the story will definitely be picking up soon - hope you enjoy it!**


End file.
